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The Magic City: Birmingham according to Sun Ra
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Magic City: Birmingham according to Sun Ra, dir. Guillaume Maupin and Pablo Guarise, US 2025, 97 mins
Book tickets

On May 22, 1914, Herman Poole Blount arrived on Earth in Birmingham, Alabama. He would become known many years later as Sun Ra and would become one of the most extraordinary and prolific jazz musicians of his century, as well as the barer of a visionary cosmic philosophy.

“The Magic City” known as Birmingham was an industrial city in the segregated South. It was there that Sun Ra laid the foundations of his mystical thinking and his music, seeing in his city an incredible world full of signs

He left it for Chicago at the age of 32 and did not return until late in his life. Portraying this artist as a young man as much as portraying a city, The Magic City tells the story of Sun Ra’s early years in this urban universe that was both political and magical, common and fantastic, disturbing and fascinating..

This will be introduced by Lee Shook Jr of Earth Libraries - founder of Sun Ra Day in Birmingham, Alabama.
Presented in association with ROVR LDN & Resonance FM, as a part of Sun Ra Day.

Last year Earth Libraries instigated the city of Birmingham, Alabama's official Sun Ra’ ”arrival” day. This year the festival expands to link Birmingham to London, with satellite events in the form of a exhibition record store specials, talks & 24 Ra hour radio programming & two film premieres.
 
Book tickets
Tue, 26 May 2026
Cinema 1
08:30 pm
Ticket information
  • All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
  • For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Access information
Cinema 1
  • Both our Cinemas have step free access from The Mall and are accessible by ramp
  • We have 1 wheelchair allocated space with a seat for a companion
  • All seats are hard back, have a crushed velvet feel and they do not recline
  • These are our seat size dimensions: W 42 x D 45 x H 52
  • Arm rest either side of the seat dimensions: L 27 x W 7 x H 20
Please email access@ica.art
for the following requirements:
  • We have unassigned seating. If you require a specific seat, please reserve this in advance
  • Free for visitors where ticket prices are a barrier, please email

All films are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated, and start with a 10 min. curated selection of trailers.

Members+ and all Patrons gain free entry to all cinema screenings, exhibitions, talks, and more.
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